UK & World News

ITV Faces Ofcom Probe Over 'Silly Stunt'

ITV could face an Ofcom investigation after This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield handed the Prime Minister a list of alleged paedophiles live on air.

Conservative MP Rob Wilson has reported the matter to the broadcasting regulator - while a Tory minister branded Schofield's actions as "silly and tasteless".

Ofcom confirmed it had received "a few" complaints about the daytime show after Schofield confronted the David Cameron with names - understood to be Conservative Party figures - that he had put together after trawling internet rumours.

Schofield was forced to apologise after the list was briefly exposed on screen.

Mr Wilson urged the regulator to look into whether ITV had breached its duty to give individuals a chance to respond before subjecting them to serious allegations on-screen.

Meanwhile, Policing and Criminal Justice Minister Damian Green was one of several politicians to denounce Schofield's actions.

"I think the stunt that Phillip Schofield pulled of presenting a list of names he had taken off the internet to the Prime Minister live on television was a tasteless and silly stunt and he should not have done it," he told BBC Question Time.

Mr Cameron has been criticised for conflating homosexuality and child abuse after he warned that discussion on the internet of an alleged paedophile ring could degenerate into a witch-hunt against people who were gay.

But Mr Green said: "What the Prime Minister was warning about is that if we just start plastering names all over the place, of people against whom there may be no evidence, it may well turn into a witch-hunt and clearly because of the attitudes towards gay people at the time, in the 80s, many of them are likely to be on it."

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: "There is no reason why he should link the current scandals with gay people or warn of an anti-gay witch-hunt.